setting_up_the_vacation_1_email_auto-responder_on_sdf []

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====== Setting up the vacation(1) email auto-responder on SDF: ======

==== What: ====

The vacation(1) tool allows users to schedule automated email replies, useful for letting people know when you're away for a while.

==== Prerequisites: ====

  * SDF ARPA membership or higher
  * public key authentication (only for Meta Array users)

==== How vacation(1) works: ====

The tool uses two files - ''$HOME/.vacation.msg'' and ''$HOME/.vacation.db'' by default - to a) issue an auto-reply message, and b) track who and when a sender was replied to. vacation(1) is usually called via a user's ''$HOME/.forward'' file, but as the tool can read from stdin(4) there are other possibilities, ie. in conjunction with procmail(1).

=== Basic setup procedure: ===

  * initialize the DB file; initialization creates the DB file if it doesn't exist and sets/resets the vacation interval timer - the period it waits to resend an auto-reply. The default interval is one (1) week; to specify an different interval use '''-t nu<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', where "n" is an integer and "u" is ''s'', ''m'', ''h'', ''d'', or ''w'' (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks; week is default). If "n" = 0 and "u" is omitted, a notice is sent for every message. If "n" is set to a very large number, say 9999, no sender will ever receive more than one notice.
  * create the auto-reply message. The message needs to be a routable email file with a header and body section. A ''$SUBJECT'' variable is supported for a more customized response.
  * edit the ''$HOME/.forward'' file to pipe mail through vacation(1); it's good idea to test the configuration beforehand using the vacation(1) '''-d<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' debug option.

==== Some examples: ====

=== ex.1) minimal setup using defaults: ===

<code>
% vacation -I                       # initialize DB; defaults to 30 days

% cat > $HOME/.vacation.msg         # create minimal auto-reply message
From: sdf_user@sdf.org
Subject: Vacation notice
Precedence: bulk

I will be out of the office until next week.
^D

% cat > $HOME/test.msg              # create test message for debugging
From frog@mud.bog
To: sdf_user@sdf.org
Subject: Hop on over here

Check out my new pad!
^D

% vacation -d sdf_user < test.msg   # test w/o actually replying
 =>
    To: frog@mud.bog
    Auto-Submitted: auto-replied
    From: sdf_user@sdf.org
    Subject: Vacation notice
    Precedence: bulk

    I will be out of the office until next week.

 note: if executed as-is more than once there won't be any output; use
       the '-t0' option to override the default 30 day response time.

% cat > $HOME/.forward              # retain a copy & pipe to vacation(1)
\sdf_user, "|/usr/bin/vacation sdf_user"
^D
</code>

=== ex.2) customized auto-reply sent every 2 days: ===

<code>
% vacation -I -t 2d                 # initialize DB; set timer to 2 days
% cat > $HOME/.vacation.msg         # create custom auto-reply message
From: sdf_user@sdf.org
Subject: Out of the office
Delivered-By: vacation(1) on SDF
Precedence: bulk

I will be out of the office until next week; please contact
George about $SUBJECT if it's urgent.
^D

% cat > $HOME/test2.msg             # create test message for debugging
From frog@mud.bog
To: sdf_user@sdf.org
Subject: the penski account

Can you get this done this week?
^D

% vacation -d sdf_user < test2.msg  # test w/o actually replying
 =>
    To: frog@mud.bog
    Auto-Submitted: auto-replied
    From: sdf_user@sdf.org
    Subject: Out of the office
    Delivered-By: vacation(1) on SDF
    Precedence: bulk

    I will be out of the office until next week; please contact
    George about the penski account if it's urgent.

% cat > $HOME/.forward  # retain a copy & pipe to vacation(1)
\sdf_user, "|/usr/bin/vacation sdf_user"
^D
</code>

=== ex.3) SDF Meta Array setup: ===

SDF users who have their mail sent to the Meta Array (host //ma.sdf.org//) will need to use ssh(1) with public key authentication to the SDF Cluster (host //tty//) as vacation(1) is not available natively on the Meta Array.

Basic setup:

  - setup vacation(1) on the SDF cluster as previously shown
  - setup ssh(1) [[http://sdf.org/?tutorials/SSH-SDF#public_key|public key authentication]] to host //tty//
  - on //ma.sdf.org// create a test.msg and test things before committing: <code>
  sdf_user@ma: cat test.msg | ssh sdf_user@tty "cat - | vacation -d -t0 sdf_user"
   =>
      To: frog@mud.bog
      Auto-Submitted: auto-replied
      From: sdf_user@ma.sdf.org
      Subject: Vacation notice
      Precedence: bulk
      ...
</code>
  - edit ''$HOME/.forward'' on //ma.sdf.org// like so: <code>
  # .forward
  \sdf_user, "| ssh sdf_user@tty 'cat - | vacation sdf_user' "
</code>

=== ex.4) using vacation(1) with procmail(1): ===

Users of the procmail(1) program probably won't want to disable it just to make use of vacation(1). The following illustrates how to integrate vacation(1) into a typical user's ''$HOME/.procmailrc'' file; it should be inserted above any "delivery" recipes so all messages are passed through:

<code>
# ~sdf_user/.procmailrc
...
## selective vacation(1) auto-responder filter setup:
VACATION_SENDER=`formail -rx "To:"`
VACATION_LIST=$HOME/.vacation.list
VACATION_MSG=$HOME/.vacation.msg
VACATION_DB=$HOME/.vacation.db

## Send vacation(1) notification if SENDER is in VACATION_LIST :
:0 c  # "c" => keep a copy of msg
## uncomment next line to do selective notifications
#* ? egrep $VACATION_SENDER $VACATION_LIST
| /usr/bin/vacation -F R -f $VACATION_DB -m $VACATION_MSG sdf_user
</code>

The ''$HOME/.vacation.list'' is just a simple text file listing those email addresses you want to send notifications to, one per line. If you don't need the functionality just leave the '''egrep<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' line commented out.

Note that ''$HOME/.vacation.db'' still needs to be initialized since this filter is just a pipe to vacation(1) which does the real processing.

==== Misc: ====

  * There is a "pure procmail" filter option that implements much of the vacation(1) functionality; see the procmailex(5) manpage for code.
  * Passing the '''-F R<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' option to vacation(1) forces checking of the Return-Path: field which can help in some cases. See the vacation(1) manpage for details as well as other options.
  * The ''$HOME/.vacation.db'' file is a hashed Burkeley DB binary file. It can be read somewhat using strings(1); useful for determining who has been auto-replied to: <code>
      % strings $HOME/.vacation.db | grep "@"
      frog@mud.bog
      itchy@bed.bug
</code>

----

$Id: vacation_auto-responder.html,v 1.4 2014/11/23 00:05:00 jgw Exp $ [[http://sdf.org/?tutorials/vacation_auto-responder|Setting up the vacation(1) email auto-responder on SDF:]] - traditional link (using [[wp>Revision_Control_System|RCS]])